Scott and Becky Mackintosh never thought Scott's lifelong dream of becoming a public speaker for teens would come true. But after the photo of Scott wearing short-shorts went viral, many opportunities have been given to these parents.

“Because of what we see on TV, we often think everyone in the world is pushing for you to be less modest, but having the media picking up on this story with the focus on 'modest is hottest' shows you they're wanting better. It's been an eye-opener.”

Becky Mackintosh

LEHI — Scott and Becky Mackintosh never thought Scott's lifelong dream of becoming a public speaker for teens would come true. While the couple have seven children who have taught them plenty of shareable life lessons, Becky didn't see how it could ever happen.

That is, until Scott decided he would teach his daughter a lesson in modesty. It all took place one Monday night when the couple's 19-year-old daughter, Myley, refused to change into longer shorts per her parents' request.

In an effort to demonstrate just how distracting short-shorts can be, Scott cut off a pair of his own jeans to wear during the family outing. He paired his Daisy Dukes with a "Best. Dad. Ever." T-shirt and called it good. Scott not only got a reaction from his kids, but eventually from thousands who saw the picture online.

"I had just put it on my Facebook," Becky said. "My son put it on his Twitter, and my daughter put it on Tumblr. That night it got 130,000 shares, so I was like, 'OK, you need to write the story.'"

That's when Scott agreed to write "The real story behind the short-shorts," which first appeared on Becky's blog. Although the picture had been seen by many, the readers didn't know why Scott had put the short-shorts on, Becky explained, which is a main reason Scott decided to write the post.

"It was after we posted the story behind the picture on my blog that it went viral," Becky said. The popularity began with a KSL interview, and the same day Deseret News ran the story. "Then the phone started ringing off the hook.

"Initially it was the funny picture that took off. But then when they read the story, it was a lesson of love," Becky said. "He did that because he loves his child. People are desperate to do that. He brought embarrassment to himself, not to his daughter."

Scott, Becky and Myley appeared on many national TV shows, including "Today," "Good Morning, America," "Inside Edition" Australia's "Sunrise" and CNN news programs, and they were mentioned or discussed by dozens of others.

"We would get a text message from someone saying, 'They're talking about you on TV,' or 'Jay Leno is talking about you,'" Becky said.

One of their most memorable appearances was on "Rachael Ray." When explaining the story and showing the viral picture to the show's guest host, Regis Philbin, Rachael Ray said, "I love this guy. I think he's my hero. ... I love that he turned the tables and came out in short-shorts." Ray then spoke with Scott, Becky and Myley about the experience.

"Definitely my whole life I've been taught — we say 'modest is hottest," Myley told Ray and Philbin. "So definitely my whole life I've been taught to dress modestly, so I think this was just a good reminder that maybe I needed. Now I think about it again more."

Ray eventually brought out Scott's short-shorts, which she had framed along with the phrase "modest is hottest."

"Because of what we see on TV, we often think everyone in the world is pushing for you to be less modest," Becky said, "but having the media picking up on this story with the focus on 'modest is hottest' shows you they're wanting better. It's been an eye-opener."

As for the reaction Scott has received, Becky explained that anyone who knows her husband knows this stunt wasn't too far out of his comfort zone.

"Scott's funny. For him to do this it wasn't shocking," Becky said. "To him, it's something that any dad would do to help his daughter. For him to do it, it was just natural."

Popular Comments

The MOST heartwarming part of this whole situation is to have our eyes opened to
the fact that MUCH of America DOES still care about modesty in public and
specifically in their teenage daughters who have become MORE objectified than
ever in the
More..

8:46 a.m. Oct. 30, 2013

Top comment

CARL

South Salt Lake, UT

How about showing that same thing to those guys who wear jeans that revel
undershorts on top?

12:20 p.m. Oct. 29, 2013

Top comment

george of the jungle

goshen, UT

I am happy for them, I really am. It got me thinking about how I do what I want
and not doing the things that I need to do because I've became lazy.
I'm trying to want to do the things I need to do. My motivation is my
heart. I have to
More..

Sarah Sanders Petersen writes for the Faith and Family sections on DeseretNews.com. Sarah received a bachelors degree in communications with an emphasis in journalism and a minor in editing from Brigham Young University. more ..